Soil texture and altitude, respectively, largely determine the floristic gradient of the most diverse fog oasis in the Peruvian desert

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Jannes Muenchow
  • Simon Hauenstein
  • Achim Bräuning
  • Rupert Bäumler
  • Eric Frank Rodríguez
  • Henrik von Wehrden
Studying species turnover along gradients is a key topic in tropical ecology. Crucial drivers, among others, are fog deposition and soil properties. In northern Peru, a fog-dependent vegetation formation develops on mountains along the hyper-arid coast. Despite their uniqueness, these fog oases are largely uninvestigated. This study addresses the influence of environmental factors on the vegetation of these unique fog oases. Accordingly, vegetation and soil properties were recorded on 66 4 × 4-m plots along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 200 to 950 m asl. Ordination and modelling techniques were used to study altitudinal vegetation belts and floristic composition. Four vegetation belts were identified: a low-elevation Tillandsia belt, a herbaceous belt, a bromeliad belt showing highest species richness and an uppermost succulent belt. Different altitudinal levels might reflect water availability, which is highest below the temperature inversion at around 700 m asl. Altitude alone explained 96% of the floristic composition. Soil texture and salinity accounted for 88%. This is in contrast with more humid tropical ecosystems where soil nutrients appear to be more important. Concluding, this study advances the understanding of tropical gradients in fog-dependent and ENSO-affected ecosystems.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Tropical Ecology
Volume29
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)427-438
Number of pages12
ISSN0266-4674
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.09.2013

    Research areas

  • Biology
  • Ecosystems Research - altitudinal zonation, diversity gradients, dry tropics, edaphic gradient, ENSO, floristic modelling, La Niña, South America, spatial analysis, species richness

Recently viewed

Activities

  1. Exploring the implications of the value concept for performance assessment of sustainable business models
  2. Transportphänomene in dynamischen Systemen
  3. Historical Organizational Studies - Where next?
  4. Sound in der Musik
  5. Dude, calm down! De-escalating driving anger using in-car information
  6. 15 Jahre „Jena-Experiment 2017
  7. The Role and Use of Environmental Management Accounting for Supply Chains: An explorative Study
  8. IGI Global Publishing (Verlag)
  9. Journal of Applied Ecology (Fachzeitschrift)
  10. Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg (Externe Organisation)
  11. Dispositive Funktionaler Klänge - 2015
  12. Workshop Grey Zones of Simulation - 2015
  13. The Motif's Address. Or: Writing Resemblance - 2011
  14. Mobilizing and organizing for transnational solidarity: the case of Exchains
  15. WSEAS Transactions on Computer Research (Fachzeitschrift)
  16. "Oh ok. (.) Yeah, do you have like Christmas exams or anything?": Constructing small talk in learner-native speaker voice-based telecollaboration (6th Intercultural Pragmatics and Communication conference - INPRA 2014, Msida/Malta)
  17. Synthese, Mimesis, Emergenz: Kontrollverlust als Designprinzip
  18. Gastvortrag und Workshop mit Prof. Jonathan Bird von der University of North Carolina at Charlotte 2014
  19. CNI Spring 2011 Membership Meeting
  20. A Sparkling Project oder von mehr Fragen als Antworten
  21. 2nd GlobalFood Symposium 2014 - Transformation of Global Agri-Food Systems
  22. Bildung für nachhaltigen Konsum
  23. Expectations and confidence regarding academic competencies: The case of german first-year students
  24. Projekt ‚Demokratie leben’ der Hansestadt Lüneburg/Stadtjugendring - 2015
  25. Future Earth Secretariat (Externe Organisation)
  26. Vortrag (Einladung): Differenzierung als Weg zu inklusivem Chemieunterricht?